Alice
by Shanna Ola Deora
Summary: When Artemis finds an old mirror, she ends up falling into a mad world. However, back home someone in Artemis's body claims to be Alice Liddell, the girl who inspired Lewis Carroll's 'Alice in Wonderland.' Curiouser and curiouser...
Hey everyone, it's been a while since I've written a YJ story, but I was searching through files of fanfiction on my laptop and found this, and now I've decided to finish it. I did put this on ffn at one point but I don't remember why I ended up taking it off. Anyways, I changed it and put the 3 chapters I originally wrote into one.

Disclaimer: I do not own YJ or Alice in Wonderland.

 _ **Alice**_

 _An Ola Production!_

Artemis's favourite book growing up was Alice in Wonderland. She didn't know what it was about it that drew her to it. She didn't think she'd ever know. She wasn't the only one in the family interested in the story, however. So was her sister, hence why she'd chosen Cheshire as her villain alias.

Cheshire.

The Cheshire Cat.

The character had always made her skin crawl. Its wide smiles and the way it would disappear. It felt like she was being watched. She didn't like being watched. But her sister, her sister liked to do the watching. To find the best way to play with her mouse.

Enemy or Friend.

It didn't matter to her. So to Artemis, her sister was the Cheshire Cat.

And herself?

She didn't know about herself. What character was she? She'd like to think she was Alice. No, Alice was too polite, too helpless. Definitely not the Queen of Hearts, she was too whiny, too… Sadistic? Yes, that sounded about right. And she'll be damned if she was the Jabberwocky.

She had read that the only way to get to Wonderland was through a rabbit hole, but only now did she realise just how off the mark Lewis Carol really was. The way she ended up in Wonderland was through a mirror.

...

Artemis pushed weakly through the crowds of Gotham nightlife. She really shouldn't have gone out. But she was a curious person. If her nose sniffed trouble, she'd run right into the middle of it without thinking. She really should do something about that.

Though she didn't blame herself for it. For days she had heard rumours at school, a mysterious shipment full of unknown goods being ported into Gotham harbour. She should have realised Batman probably had it covered, but something drew her into it. So late last night, long after her mother had settled down to sleep, Artemis had pulled back her covers – already dressed – pulled her hair into her pony tail and then opened her window. Or at least tried too. It had squeaked loudly in the emptiness of her house. Luckily, it seemed her mother was too deeply buried in sleep.

It then suddenly occurred to her that if her school knew about it, shouldn't the police? She had been under the impression that the police never done anything, but it seemed that that new Commissioner, Jim Gordon, was actually attempting to ease the rate of crime downwards.

Now, however, she ran. Four goons hot on her trail, Batman's voice echoing through her ears ("Do not engage in combat whilst in civilian disguise"). So instead she ran. She pushed aside teenage hookers and homeless tramps, though trying carefully not to upset a gang member who could quite possibly be lurking on the street this time of night.

Night.

No! It was morning, early morning. Faint traces of sunlight could be seen on the horizon.

Her mother would be furious. Whilst following this train of thought, she didn't even notice leaving the heavily populated street and running right into a dirty, gothic alley way! The men right on her heels, just as she reached a dead-end. So she turned and kicked outwards, smirking widely as she felt her boot connect with the left side of one goons jaw. Her smirk widened at the sound of a high pitched crack. She finished him off with a kick to the groin and an uppercut to his already broken jaw.

Batman's words be damned!

A second thug charged at her, careful to avoid the unconscious body of his "friend." She ducked his series of punches before lashing out with her own punch, his nose crunching under her fingers. A third man replaced the second. He was more skilled than the two before, but Artemis was trained by her father. And no one was better than him (except maybe Batman)…

She evaded the punches and kicks thrown her way as the fourth thug decided to help his "friend". They were faster than she had expected, and a lot more violent. One man picked up a small trash can that the bums of the street usually used for fires, and charged at her. Her mind flickered to Robin.

" _When evading an enemy, agility is the key, that's why I'm a skilled acrobat in a city like Gotham!"_

 _Artemis vaguely remembered scoffing, remembered Black Canary throw her a disapproving look at her lack of attention. "I'm a decent fighter as it is, why would prancing around like a fairy help?"_

 _Robin's smirk had scared her, "maybe it's about time you found out."_

As the flashback ebbed away, Artemis smirked and waited for the man to come closer. Then she pushed up from the wall and flipped over the man and his make-shift weapon, as she landed she reflexively kicked out into his stomach.

She pulled herself up straight and wiped imaginary dust from her shoulder. She eyed the three unconscious men on the floor in front of her.

Pain shot through the back of her skull, sending her face first onto the muddy pavement. She blinked rapidly, clearing the black spots from her vision. Someone was talking, but she failed to process the words and instead reached back to touch the back of her head cautiously, pulling back to reveal a thick crimson substance. Artemis groaned, ignoring the angry voice coming from behind her.

"Are you even listening to me, you freak?"

Her pained groans were all he received in response. "I should shoot you for interrupting our deal!"

Of course, she had forgotten about the fourth man. Stupid! How could she be so stupid? Her father had taught her better than that.

Pushing herself up onto shaky feet, she braced herself against the alley wall, ignoring the man's ranting and raving. She eyed the steel pipe in his grimy hands, the hands of a desperate thief, and mentally kicked herself for not noticing him retrieve it from the floor.

Medical aid had never been her forte, but she knew it was very possible that she was suffering from a concussion. Her vision blurred for a few moments, head pounding like it had gone two rounds against Bane on a bad day. _Come on Girl!_ She shook her head, attempting to clear away the cobwebs. _You've seen green monkey's fight better than this!_

Turning to face the arrogant thug, her footing slipped on the street grime, the steel pipe barely missing her head, resulting in a resounding THWAK on the grey bricked wall. She breathed a mental sigh of relief. Artemis pushed the pain away, just like her father had taught her, before making her move. She grabbed the man's wrist in a solid hold, digging her nails into his vein. She ignored his pitiful howls of pain, bringing her knee up to connect with his elbow. He crumpled to the floor sobbing, clutching his now shattered elbow.

"Puh- please, have mercy!"

Artemis glared down at him in disgust. "That's all you have to say? I just whooped your sorry ass and that's all you have to say?"

He flinched at the disdain and anger in her voice. "What's your name?"

"J-Jonah. Jonah King." He replied.

"Well, Jonah, you're going to tell me everything I want to know."

Jonah stayed silent, his wide eyes watching her feet, too afraid to dare look up. Beads of sweat cascaded down his temple and his cheek, until it fell from the tip of his crooked chin.

"Answer me!"

He flinched, again. He was scared, and she had him right where she wanted him.

"I don't know, okay! I was transporting it for a company named Hargreaves Inc. They pay good money so I can support my kids, okay? The head is a woman called Jane Hargreaves. All we had to do was transport the package into Gotham and let out a rumour about illegal goods being transported into some school," he breathed heavily, then continued quietly. "She gave Boss the key for the crate."

"Who's your boss?" Jonah motioned his head to the thug who had come at her with the can.

Artemis nodded in satisfaction, "remember, if I find out that anything you've told me is a lie. I. Will. Hunt. You. Down. Got it?"

The man nodded hurriedly. And then Artemis kicked him in the face.

One benefit of being a superhero is that you never forget the painkillers, Artemis thought happily as she swallowed a pill without water. Then she headed back to the dockyards.

…

The sun lit the eastern sky in various different colours, but Artemis spared no time to admire them. She continued forwards, pushing through the thinning crowds. She was close to the docks.

Artemis didn't bother to hide her disgust. The dockyards were the smelliest parts of Gotham, the place where all the rough deals went down. She passed Warehouse twelve hurriedly, and then cautiously watched her surroundings as she entered Warehouse thirteen.

The Warehouse was enormous. _Oh my, it's a friggin' TARDIS_ , Artemis thought disdainfully. _How on Earth am I supposed to find the right crate in here?_

She passed rows of crates, all of various shapes and sizes. One crate was already open, and as she looked inside, an onslaught of different sports balls came at her. "God dammit!" The blonde archer yelled, angrily. "Where on Earth did those come from?"

Peering back inside the crate, it was now empty. "Nothing…"

Locking the curiosity back inside, she continued her search for the mysterious crate.

 _That one!_ Her mind yelled as her sights settled on a wooden crate. _Pine, it's made out of pine._ She felt around the crate until she reached an intricately sketched carving in the wood. _A white rabbit? Why a white rabbit?_

Pulling out the key she had grabbed from the 'Boss', she felt around the crate. On the left side was a carving of a door around the key hole. Her eyebrows furrowed, confused.

She pushed the key in, and then pulled the door of the crate open.

"What?" Artemis stared. "A mirror?"

Using her strength, the green archer pulled the mirror from the crate. Wiping sweat from her brow, Artemis took the time to examine the mirror properly.

The frame was golden. Designs were carved into the surface. The right side had the images of a hare, a short little man holding a teapot, a man in a giant hat with a crazed look in his eye and towards the top was a white rabbit, it's face scrunched in horror as he stared up. The left side of the mirror had the images of a man with a small circlet crown around his head, then another man with a larger crown and just above him was a woman wearing a heart shaped crown staring blankly upwards. At the top of the mirror was a large grinning face of a man, his eyes staring down at the faces below him, lips drawn up in a cruel smirk.

Artemis frowned, confused by the carvings.

"What would Hargreaves Inc want with an old mirror?"

Her eyes were drawn to the bottom of the enigma, and she felt her eyes widen. What the hell?

There at the very bottom of the mirror was a young girls face, twisted in agony, her mouth forever open in a silent scream. Below the girl's face was a quote written in neat, fancy writing: ' _Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't.'_

Artemis snorted. It was one of the cheesiest things she had ever read, but the phrase seemed familiar. Like she had read it out a book.

Shaking her head, Artemis stepped closer to the mirror. Her hand reaches out to touch her reflections hand. Both hands connect and she felt a spark reverberate through her hands and up her arms, a warm heat travelled through her body, her eyes connected with her reflections, only, they weren't the familiar green of her eyes, but a cold, chilling blue. And suddenly, she was falling forwards, down into a darkness of the unknown secrets of Lewis Carroll's mirror.

…

 _My name is Artemis,_

 _And I'm falling into the darkness._

She was falling…

Or, at least she thought she was.

She felt no sensation normally associated with falling. She seemed almost calm, relaxed. Her eyes were clenched shut, as if the archer was almost afraid of what she might see. Finally convincing her body to calm down, Artemis opened her eyes.

She seemed to be gently floating down an up-ways corridor, her ponytail fluttering above her. She arched a blonde eyebrow. How odd…

She continued down the up-wards hallway, bookshelves and chairs, tables and lamps, floated up as she descended.

Passing countless objects, Artemis seemed almost at ease as she twirled in the air. Twisting so she was upside down, Artemis grinned, her ponytail slapping around her face. If only Wally could see her now.

…

It had been two days since Artemis had been reported missing by Green Arrow. Wally was worried (not that he'd openly admit that to anyone else). He watched as Megan grimly stirred her fifteenth cake batch in the last six hours, Conner sat beside her on the counter, the frown tugging at the edges of his lips. Kaldur was currently in Atlantis doing something or other, and Robin? His best friend was in Gotham, he and Batman had started looking for clues on Artemis' whereabouts.

And he wasn't allowed to help.

"You okay?" Wally jumped; he hadn't expected Zatanna to be back yet.

She looked tired. Her usually vibrant skin was grey and her eyes were duller than they used to be. She had been like this for weeks now, since her dad…

Wally snorted.

"Of course not, how silly of me to be concerned," She responded dryly. "We're all looking for her, you know? We all care –"

Zatanna cut off at Wally's face. Whatever she saw there made her eyes narrow, "Don't you dare doubt my words, you know we care!"

"I know, but we're not allowed into Gotham to help, remember?" He responded bitterly. His thought's drifted to Robin. Has he found anything? What is he doing right now?

Zatanna sighed, "I know."

Wally's eyes returned to Megan and Conner. The shaking in Megan's hands had become more prominent, and Conner watched with worry in his eyes, while the rest of him stoic and still.

As far as he knew, Megan and Artemis hadn't really got off on the right foot, but their relationship had gotten better to the point that Megan was the only one who could drag Artemis into a shopping spree.

He already missed their arguments, and he had to get them back. He had to get her back. No matter what.

With that Wally made up his mind. He stood up from the couch.

"Where are you going?"

He turned to look at Zatanna, their eyes met. "I'm going to do something."

"And I'm coming with you."

…

Robin sighed, and held back a yawn, resisting the urge to rub his eyes behind his mask. He watched Batman analyse the warehouse from the outside.

Robin remembered starting the investigation yesterday night. Paula had been wary when the costumed vigilantes had appeared in her house, but also seemed to take it all in stride like it was a normal occurrence. Robin had read her file; Huntress had probably had plenty of visits from heroes during her villain days. A quick sweep of her room told them that Artemis had left of her own accord for no signs of a struggle was visible and Artemis's hand print was still on the window ledge.

They traced her footsteps to Gotham harbour, right to Warehouse 13.

Robin remembered the looks on the Justice League's faces when Batman flat out refused to have them in his city, even if it was looking for Artemis. Young Justice had put up a fight when they learnt that they weren't allowed to help either, Robin felt a little guilty about that. But Batman said they could only get involved if things got complicated.

Robin's mind was pulled back to the present as Batman signalled that the inside was safe. The Dynamic Duo landed quietly on the roof – which presented quite a challenge since it was made of glass – and Robin sighed it relief when their weight didn't break it. The Boy Wonder's eyes trailed over the dark objects inside the warehouse, the crates ranging from small to big, odd shaped boxes and the normal box ones.

 _There must be a crap load of illegal items in these boxes_ , Robin thought. He knew Batman couldn't really do much about them though. Not yet.

Robin kept watch as Batman pulled out all sorts of gadgets – seriously, it's not like he remembers the name of all of it, yesh! – and cut through the glass. A hole big enough for both to fit through.

The warehouse was silent.

But Robin couldn't help but feel that it was about to get a lot more complicated.

A sharp pain erupted in the back of his knee. The Boy Wonder gritted his teeth and pulled out the familiar arrow.

What the hell is she thinking?

He saw her outline in the darkness. Unsure of where Batman had gone he kicked out reflexively before he blacked out from blood loss.

Oh yeah, it just got complicated…

Word Count: 2,908


End file.
